My Responsibility
by Mauselet-AliceAsuka
Summary: What if the last episode played out differently? What if the Dark Pterosaur had an effect on the ones trapped inside it?


**I've used headcanon first names here.**

**Btw, I've tried to be scientifically accurate, however, I couldn't find anything that would fit the plot perfectly, so please don't be mad at me for possible mistakes...**

—

They rushed inside the house on board of the Space Pirates ship. All four called for their parents as they were searching in the dark mist. They entered the living room to find a horrifying scene; all six of the parents were lying on the floor like corpses, slight burns on their bodies.

Their children froze in place, scared and shocked; this wasn't what they expected.

Three of them couldn't move, but Reese rushed to the parents. The trio was shaking, holding their tears hardly back. Reese's words snapped them out of it. "They're still alive, just unconscious," she said with a slight chuckle in her voice.

The D-Team smiled in relief.

"What happened?" Max wondered.

"It must be the Dark Pterosaur," Rex realized, "the mist's all around this place."

"But what do we do now...?" Zoe asked worriedly.

Suddenly, there some sort of explosion at their feet and a dark gas was released. The gasped and jumped away.

"Don't breathe it in!" Reese told them through her hand. She covered her mouth and nose to reduce the amount of gas she inhales. She figured this could be the cause of their parents' unconsciousness. She reached for a small glass in her coat and caught a sample in it, closing it.

It didn't take long until all the darkness disappeared. Seth flew with the Backland at the original Dark Pterosaur to destroy it. His action brought him into the same state as the parents.

No, no. This one was different.

The others helped to get him and the parents in recovery capsules. Monitors that were next to each of the capsules, showing the health conditions of the occupants.

Everyone was in the room. The D-Team watched in silence and concern.

Several hours have passed and the trio made no steps from the room. Seth even was awake by that time, but that didn't apply to the parents.

Reese stood in the door quietly. It was time she decides what happens next. She convinced others to go to the future. Her primary reason for that was Rod and Laura; she knew how much they wanted to go back home and be with their parents, she felt the same before. And she feels the same even now.

Jonathan insisted to stay in the present, while the rest travels back in the future using the Space Pirates ship, leaving the now useless Backland behind.

It was already dark outside. The D-Team was each in their respective rooms on the Backland, possibly already sleeping.

Reese was in the room with the capsules, shaking a little. "I'm sorry..." she whispered, "this didn't have to happen. This shouldn't have happened."

She got no reply. There was just a scary silence in the room, nothing more.

She clenched her fists tightly. "I'm sorry..."

Then she heard footsteps approaching. She looked back to see Patrick walking over to her.

"Señorita, it's late. What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Mourning..." She turned back to the parents. "This could have been easily avoided..."

"You aren't the only one to blame; Dr. Owen and I were there too. That Dark Pterosaur was summoned because of all three of us."

"I know..." She pulled a small glass bottle from her coat; it was the one she took the sample in. "I assume they're unconscious because of this gas. I need to run some tests on it and see if I can find an antidote, so we could wake them up soon. I'm so grateful for the help from all of you."

"That's a matter of course. You can count on us."

She nodded. "I'll put this in the lab and head to bed, I swear."

"Okay." He walked away.

Reese sighed, still standing frozen in the room. "I'll make sure you all wake up, whatever it takes." She went to the lab on the Backland and started the scan on the gas. She then went to her room.

She sat on the bed, thinking about how is it going to be now. Without their parents, she has full responsibility for her sister. That wasn't the issue; their problem was money. Now she needed to earn money for more people; there was one way... The animal hospital was now left abandoned.

With a long sigh, she laid down and tried to fall asleep. It was so hard with everything that was going through her head at the moment. Strange how such a tiny thing as having a lemonade turned into this.

She managed to close her eyes at 3 a.m. With a few hours of sleep, she joined the others to have breakfast. The children didn't look much better. As she expected none of them was able to sleep peacefully.

Dr. Owen and Patrick seemed much more alive than them but still sleepy. They very likely felt guilty for what happened like Reese.

As Jonathan was serving the breakfast, Max spoke up: "What now?" Everyone looked at him. They stayed silent for a while.

"A sample of the gas is being analyzed in the lab," Reese said, "I need you three to finish it and check the results while I'll be at Pet Town taking care of stuff."

"And why is that gas so important?" Zoe wondered.

"It's possibly the cause of... our problems," Rex speculated, his finger wrapped around his chin. He wasn't sure how to call their situation.

"They're going to wake up, right?" Max asked.

"It isn't easy for me to say, but we can't know until we get the results..." Reese glanced away, grim still in her voice.

"Why? Of course, they're going to wake up!" Dr. Owen told them determinately. He didn't lose hope.

The kids smiled. "Right."

"Dr. Owen, could you and Patrick bring here some D-lab research?" Reese demanded, "it might be handy."

"Sure!"

"And, Jonathan, would you look over our parents for today?"

The android nodded.

—

As they promised, the trio stayed in Backland's lab, waiting for the results.

"What if the results say something bad?" Zoe asked quietly.

Max leaned back in his chair, folding his arms behind his head. "I know you're worried, but what's the worst that can happen?"

She shot an angry glare at him. "Don't jinx it like that."

"Sorry... I just don't want to think about the worst scenario," he told her.

"We should expect anything to happen," Rex spoke up.

They both looked at him. They knew he's right, but they didn't want to see it that way. They just waited for the results to be 100% done, even though they didn't really know how the results are going to look like.

When a table popped-up on the computer screen, Dr. Owen and Patrick walked in. They all rushed to the screen.

"What does it say?" Max asked.

"I don't know..." Rex replied, shaking his head, "it's just a bunch of numbers and some random letters. I have no clue what's all of this supposed to mean."

"So, we know nothing..." Zoe sighed.

"Reese might know what it means," Patrick said.

Foster looked at the screen closely. "SO2..." he realized what that stands for, "oh no... Johnathan!"

—

It was an evening when Reese came back; she headed to the lab. Nobody was there. She glanced at the screen which almost gave her a heart attack.

The main results were that a high percentage of the gas was Sulfur dioxide; a dangerous gas.

"No...No! Guys!" She rushed out of the room to find the others. She ran into Patrick in the door. "Sulfur dioxide! We need to-"

"Everything's already done, señorita."

She blinked a few times. "Where are the others?"

"Come with me."

She followed the man to the living room where the others were.

"We must immediately get our parents treated-!"

"Done!" Dr. Owen told her.

"Everything...?" She stood there in surprise. "Wait, are you sure you didn't forget anything?!" The tone of her voice was urgent, it sounded so strange.

"Everything. I went to tell Jonathan about the sulfur; he treated them all," he reassured her.

However, the trio was in the same stress as Reese.

"What is that surf dio...anyway?" Max asked.

"Sulfur dioxide," Rex corrected him, "it's a dangerous gas if I am right."

"Does that mean we can end up the same?" Zoe wondered kind of worriedly.

"I don't think so; they've inhaled much more than us, but we can't overlook any effects," Reese said, "now, it is possible to recover, however, we don't know how much they've breathed in, so there's no telling if they're ever going to wake up..."

A tense silence filled the room; all of them were scared to death by the number of possible outcomes of the situation.

"You three should go to sleep," Reese told the kids. They forcefully headed in their rooms.

Reese sighed when they left. "This doesn't really help."

"At least now we know what most of that gas was and we can give them an antidote," Patrick said.

"There is no antidote. Nothing would just magically cure them...that's why the sooner its victims are treated the bigger chance they have. Dr. Owen, I have to thank you; if you'd waited for me they possibly wouldn't be alive by now..."

"That was nothing. Now, important is to stay positive until they wake up!"

"Right. I'll head out to the bed as well. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

Reese left the room, but before walking to her room, she headed to the parents.

"How are they?" she asked Jonathan.

"Their life functions are stabilized. I did what I could to treat them, but it might be too late."

"There is a big possibility it is..." She looked at the capsules closely. "My dad used to say that there's always hope, but I've never seen meaning in that. Hope isn't something I'd give much weight to."

"Same with Dr. Ancient. He is more of a rational person."

"Yeah... I bet he'd know what to do..." Reese looked away from the capsules.

"But even he's had hope in the children and even believed in miracles; I've heard it in his voice the last I've seen him."

"So, I should just wait for a miracle...? I guess there isn't anything that would help them at this point. We just have to wait..." She sighed. "I'll connect the computer to my phone, so I'm immediately informed if their states change and so you don't have to spend here the whole day."

"I do not mind."

"I know, but still... I'd like to be prepared."

—

Several days passed and nothing changed. The trio started attempting school again, however, they were still affected by their situation, so they weren't doing very good.

It was a strange time.

One morning, Zoe didn't leave her room. Everyone was worried. Max and Rex tried to talk to her.

Max knocked on the door. "Hey, Zoe?"

"Go away..." sounded from the room.

"Are you okay? Did something happen?" Rex asked worriedly, "you know you can tell us anything."

"Leave me alone!" they heard her yelled and then as if something hit the door from the other side. They jumped a few feet back and looked at each other.

"Should we?" Max wondered.

"I'm worried about her too, but if she wants her privacy we should accept that."

"I guess..."

They both left, still concerned for their friend's sudden behavior. Reese, however, wasn't intimidated. She knocked on the door, getting the same response, but Reese opened the door anyway and walked in. A pillow was lying on the floor near the door; that must have hit the door.

"Zoe?" Reese closed the door carefully.

Her sister looked up; she was sitting on the bed, her lap covered by a blanket. She seemed nervous and embarrassed, uncomfortable. "Go away..."

"Zoe, what's wrong?"

"T-that's none of your business..."

"Sure, it isn't, but whatever is happening, you refuse to leave your room because of it and that means you won't go to school and that isn't none of my business anymore."

"What are you talking about...?" Zoe growled annoyedly.

"I am responsible for you."

"No way...!"

"Don't talk to me like that, young lady."

"Stop telling me what to do, you aren't my mother!"

"I almost am!"

"Stop pretending like you are! You can't replace her! You aren't mom!" Zoe yelled.

Reese gasped softly and glanced away. The truth was that she's been a little pushy to her sister, but she's never meant it in a bad way...

Zoe stared at her guiltily.

"I'm sorry," they said at once. They turned to one another with surprised looks. They both smiled.

"Sis, I hope you understand that I am not trying to replace mom or dad. I only want to make sure everything's as best as it can be right now. I have a responsibility for you. That's means if anything happens, I should know. I can't let you stay here; if you get in trouble because you don't go to school, it's on me. Our situation shouldn't affect our everyday life negatively. They wouldn't want that."

"I know, but... I can't go."

"Why?"

Zoe blushed and glanced away. "I'd rather talk about that with mom..."

Reese walked over to her and took her hand. She had an idea about what is going on. It was about time it happens.

"I am not her, but you can trust me with this. I won't tell anyone, I promise."

Zoe smiled. "Thanks, sis."

Reese sat beside her, still holding her hand.

—

Everything settled down; it was their usual routine. They got used to their new lifestyle. Some of them still kept their hopes up that the parents are going to wake up, but it seemed more and more hopeless.

It was a long day for Reese. She fell asleep as soon as she hit the bed. However, her dreamless sleep was interrupted by her ringtone. She opened one eye to see her phone lit up.

Who's texting her in the middle of the night?

She sat up, put on her glasses and looked at her text. She gasped. It was a message about a change in the parents' states. All it said was that all their functions are at complete zero.

"No..."

She rushed into the room with the capsule to take a look at what's happening. She peeked into the room and stopped.

All six capsules were opened. She stared in shock. The parents got out of the capsules; they were okay.

"You're awake..." Reese murmured in disbelief.

They heard her and turned to the door.

"Reese?"

Tears filled her eyes and she ran to her parents, hugging them. "I didn't think you'd ever wake up..." she sobbed.

They hugged her back.

—

"So, that's what happened," Reese said after explaining everything to the parents. She had her messy hair in a bun.

They were sitting at the table in the dining room. "I'm sorry for making this so complicated for you," she apologized to the Ancients, "with completely broken engines the Backland isn't operational and you are stuck here. I shouldn't have decided that you'll stay here."

"There is nothing to be done with that now," Trias told her, "you did what you had to."

"You actually made the decision easier for us," Cretacia reassured her, "the future is our home, but the present is Rex's. We shouldn't stay, but we don't have another choice and we won't try to leave."

"You know you're more than welcome here," Aki said.

"I doubt the children would handle you leaving after what they've just been through," Amano sighed.

"Right..." Reese nodded. "It wasn't easy for them...for all of us."

"Despite that, you've managed to get through it, doing everything for the kids," Ryunanaka tried to cheer her up.

"Dad...I've done what I could, but I wasn't alone." Reese smiled softly.

At that moment, Jonathan entered the room; he was staring in shock.

Reese's smile widened. "You were right; we only need to wait for a miracle," she told him.

He bowed to welcome the parents back. "I am delighted to see you are all alright. Should I go wake master Rex and the others?"

"Let them sleep." Reese shook her head.

Suddenly, Foster snuck through the other door, his eyes closed; he was sleepwalking, making his way to the fridge in the kitchen.

"Not again..." Reese sighed.

Patrick chased right after him, completely awake. He was also shocked to see the full room.

Another one to be surprised was Dr. Owen; tripped and fell, waking himself up. He looked to the table and his sleepy eyes shined in happiness. He and Spike immediately greeted each other with their dance, which Cretacia joined after a while.

—

In the morning, the trio got up and headed to the dining room.

Max and Rex met up first.

"You slept well?" Max wondered.

"Not really; I think I heard...something at night and couldn't sleep because of it, but... That must've been just a dream," Rex replied.

Zoe soon joined them.

"Do you feel better?" the blonde asked her.

She nodded. "A little...but I'm hungry."

"Me too!" Max said, "let's just go."

They entered the dining room and were greeted by a big surprise. Their parents were awake. They immediately rushed to them and hugged them.

After all this time, they're all together and happy...

—

**And a happy ending!**

**The original idea was much darker; the parents were supposed to die, but I don't think I'd be able to deal with it.**

**I hope you enjoyed!**


End file.
